Metal treating apparatus



g- 1931- c. SCHUMACHEVR 1,817,902

METAL TREATING APPARATUS Original Filed May 3, 1927 ATTORNEY patented Aug. 4, 1931 I NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONRAD SCHUMACHER, OF LYNBROOK, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO AUTOSTROP PATENTS CORPORATION, OF DOVER, DELAWARE, A

CORPORATION OF DELAWARE METAL TREATING APPARATUS Original application filed May 3, 1927, Serial No. 188,427. Divided and this application filed, January 16, 1980.

Serial No. 421,125.

This'application is a division of my application filed May 3, 1927, Serial No. 188,427, for method of hardening metal strips.

This invention relates to improved means for hardening or chilling continuous lengths of heated steel strips as they pass from a heating furnace.

An object of the invention is to maintain a heated strip in contact with successive chilling or cooling plates as the strip travels from a urnace to chill the strip to approximately a desired temperature, and at the same time to keep the strip in a flat condition and prevent it from bending or warping while chilling and to maintain said chilling plates at approximately a constant temperature.

Another object of the invention .is to chill different portions of the heated strip to different degrees of hardness as the strip travels between the chilling plates. A feature of the invention is that the harder portion or portions of the strip may be ground for producing one or more cutting edge or edges thereon, and a soft portion may be perforated, the invention being particularly applicable in the manufacture of safety razor blades, and other tools and articles.

The invention embodies novel features of improvement more fully hereinafter set forth and then pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an apparatus adapted for carrying out the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the steel-chilling devices, substantially on the plane of line 2, 2, in Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a cross section substantially on line 3, 3, in Fig. 2;

Fig. {i is a perspective detail view, partly in section, illustrating lower chilling plates;

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view illustrating superposed plates, and

Figs. 6, 7 and-8 are detail perspective views of modified forms of chilling plates for chillin strips todifi'erent degrees of hardness in di erent parts of the strips.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corflexible strip of steel, as the same travels through the furnace- The strip may be propelled through the furnace and wound by 'means of a reel B which may be operated at desired speed in any suitable way, such as by means of belt and pulley C, D. Other suitable propelling means for strip A may be used. Closely adjacent to the furnace are chilling plates 2 and 3 superposed andbetween which the strip A may be propelled. By preference there are several pairs of chilling plates 2 and 3 spaced apart along the strip with spaces at 4 between each pair of plates, as indicated in Fig. 2. The strip A rests upon the lower plates 2 and the upper plates 3 rest upon the strip so that the respective plates are in contact with the strip. The chilling plates 2 are supported on the top plate 5a of a box or tank 5 so as to be cooled or chilled by contact therewith. The upper part of box 5 is shown provided with side walls 56 which retain the plates 2 and 3 from lateral displacement. Tokeep the plates 2 and 3 in their proper positions so that they will not be displaced lengthwise during travel of strip A therebetween the plates 2 are shown provided with lateral projections 2a engaging the metal at adjacent sidesof recesses 5 in the side walls 5b of box'5, and the upper plates 3 are similarly provided with side proections 3a to engage the metal at .the sides of said recesses, (Figs. 4 and 5). The arrangement described permits the chilling plates to be removed and replaced as required for ready application of strip A between the plates.

jected against the inner side of the top 5a 5 of box 5 substantially throughout the length thereof for continuously supplying chilling water or other fluid to said top and. thus in thermal relation to the plates for maintaining the plates 2 in a chilled condition. A fluid supply pipe 8 enters the box 5 at one end and is provided with spaced outlets or jets 8a on the upper surface to direct streams of cooling fluid E against the box top 5a, (Fig. 2) pipe 8 may have a single fluid delivery slot if preferred. The inner end 8?) of pipe 8 is shown closed to assure the flow of the jets or streams of fluid therefrom. The pipe 8 may be supplied with fluid under desired pressure in any suitable way, such as by a pump from a source of supply. The waste cooling water or fluid from pipe 8 will flow into the box or tank 5 and an overflow outlet pipe is indicated at 9 for the-box which may lead to a sewer or other suitable place, or the water or other fluid may be re-pumped from the box 5 back to the same in a continuous way.

A tank 10 for cooling water or'other fluid rests upon the upper chilling plates 3, the bottom 10a of which tank is preferably flexible so that through the flexibility of said bottom each of the upper chilling plates 3 may be independently pressed by means of a weight thereon to keep each plate in desired contact with strip A. For such purpose pressure plates 11 within tank 10 are. located over the corresponding chilling plates 3 to press thereon, said plates 11 preferably having spaced feet 1111 to bear on the tank bottom 10a in spaced relation so as not to interfere with the distribution of cooling fluid on said bottom.

' Said plates 11 are shown pivotally connected at 12 with rods 13 depending from arms 14, to which arms the rods 13 may be attached by means of screws 15. The arms 14 are pivotally supported upon rod 16 which is car ried by brackets or uprights 17 secured on table 6, whereb the arms with the respective plates 11 may be swung away from tank 10 and the plates may be returned thereto as required. Suitable Weights 18 are carried by the arms 14 and may be detachably secured thereto by means of screws 19. When the parts are in the positions illustrated the weights 18 will press through the plates 11 upon the flexible bottom 10a of tank 10 to individually press the corresponding underlying upper chilling plate 3 against strip A. The chilling water or other fluid may be suplied to the tank 10 by means of a flexible.

ose or other conduit 20 from asuitable source of supply, and at a desired height the tank is provided with an outlet pipe at .21 which may deliver the overflow cooling fluid from the tank into the pipe 9 or to any other receptacle, or for repumping to the tank. When it is desired to replace a strip A between the chilling plates the arms 14 may be swung outwardly carrying the corresponding weights and the plates 11' away from the box so that the latter may be lifted off of the plates 3, and said plates 3 may be removed for adjustment of a new strip A over the plates 2, and then said plates and other parts may be replaced for chilling said strip. The

The

10 is shown provided with deflector plates 10?) that extend outside of the chilling plates 2 and 3 and are shown depending from the lo-ei corners of the tank 10, to prevent condensed 'moisture from reaching or engaging the strip A.

When the strip A has been heated to the desired temperature it is propelled or drawn from the furnace between the chilling plat s 2 and 3 at a suitable speed and contact of said plates with the strip will chill it to the desired extent as it travels. Since there are several pairs of plates 2 and 3 independent of each other and spaced apart a suitable distance each pair of plates will operate on strip A independently of any other pair of plates and thereby bending or warping of strip A as it passes between the plates is prevented, because each top plate 3 may bear independently upon relatively short portions of the strip, as distinguished from a single pair of chilling plates which are of suflicient length as to extend completely along the chilling zone of a heated strip and which have heretofore been liable to warp because subjected to heating on their inner surfaces against the heated strip and to cooling on their outer surfaces with a considerable difference in temperature between the two end portions. While the contact of the heated strip A with the adjacent surfaces of the chilling plates 2 and 3 tends to heat the plates the continuous supply of cooling fluid maintained at a substantially even temperature will keep each pair of plates at substantially relative temperatures so that the strip will emerge from between the last pair of plates at the desired hardened state or condition.

All-of the plates 2 and 3 may have complete surfaces in contact with strip A so as to give a similar degree of hardness to the strip throughout its full width. For some purposes it is desired to produce different degrees of hardness along different portions of strip A and this may be accomplished by starting the initial chilling of the strip at one portion (where it is to be the hardest) ahead of another portion of the strip that is to have a less degree of hardness, so that the initial chilling of the latter portion of the strip is started subsequently to the initial chilling of the first named portion of the strip. In the example illustrated the plates 2 and 3 next adjacent to the furnace are provided with recessed portions 2, 3', respectively, the recess of one plate opposing the recess of the opposite plate, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5, such recesses extending lengthwise of the corresponding plates and opening through the end of such plate next adjacent to the furnace, (Figs. 4 and 8). In case it is desired that the edge portions of strip A shall have a greater degree of hardness than the central portion of the strip the recesses 2', 3, of the corresponding plates 2 and 3,

chilling tank a central position.

may be arranged as shown in Fig. 4, with the recesses extending lengthwise of the plates in If it be desired that one edge portion of the strip be hardened more than another edge portion of the strip the recesses 2' and 3 of the corresponding plates will be located adjacent to the edge of the strip to have the lesser degree of hardness, (Fig. 6). In case it be desired that the hardness of the strip A should gradually increase in the; direction fromone edge toward the other the recesses 2 and 3 may be arranged as illustrated in Fig. 7, that is to say the recesses will extend substantially across the plates 2 and 3, with the widest extent at the ends next adjacent to the furnace and the edge of the recess at 2" may extend in a diagonal or other angular direction across the plates from at or near one edge to or toward the other. If it be desired that the strip shall have its central portion hardened to the greatest degree and its two edge portions hardened to a lesser degree the plates 2 and 3 may have two spaced recesses, as indicated at 2in Fig. 8, along the sides of the plates, leaving the central portion, such as at 20, to bear upon the strip at the ends adjacent to the furnace. When the heated traveling strip first engages the plates 2 and 3 that are next adjacent to the furnace the portion of the strip that first contacts with said plates will receive an initial and continuing chilling and the portion of the strip at one side of the first named por tion and that passes between the opposing recesses 2, 3', of the plates will be reduced or will drop slightly in temperature below its temperature as it emerges from the furnace, (by reason of atmospheric cooling), without chllling contact with the plates, and when such portion of the strip engages the chilling surfaces of the plates such portion of the strip will be initially chilled, and the chilling of all portions of the strip will continue simultaneously as it travels between the su ccessive pairs of plates. The portion of the strip that last contacted with a pair of chilling plates will be hardened to a less degree than the portion of the strip which first or initially contacted with a pair .of chilling plates. M During the progress of the heated strip between the chilling plates it will be gradually reduced in temperature to the degree desired when it emerges from between the plates, and may be left to cool in that condition, or the strip may be tempered by reason of the desired degree of residue heat still in the strip. In Fig. 1 tempering plates 22, 23 are shown supported upon table 6 in such position that the strip A may pass between said plates, theupper plate 23 resting upon the strip and keeping it in contact with the plate 22 as the strip travels between the plates. Said tempering plates may be'heated to any desired temperature by any suitable means, such as by means of an electrical heater, indicated generally at 24.

By the means described strips of steel hav- A with the longitudinal central portions of.

the blades of less hardness than the edge portions in accordance with Fig. 4, or with one edge portion of less hardness than the other edge, in accordance with Fig. 6, so that the harder portion or portions of the blades may be provided withcuttingedges,and apertures may be punched with facility and economy in the less hardened or softer portion of the strip. Furthermore, saws may be made .from some of the stripswith theteeth out along the hardened edge portion, leaving the other portion of the saws of less degree of hardness.

Having now described my invention what I claim is 1. An apparatus of the character described comprising means to heat a stripof metal, a plurality of closely spaced pairs of chilling plates adapted to receive the heated strip therebetween, the plates of each pair being adapted to bear upon the strip independently of the plates of the other pair or pairs to prevent warping of the strip as it travels between the several cool said plates, and means to propel the strip between said plates.

2. An apparatus of the character described comprising means to heat a strip of metal to a desired temperature, a pair of chilling.

plates to receive the heated strip therebetween, said plates having opposing surfaces to engage a portion of the strip and having recesses to keep adjacent portions of the strip out of contact with the plates for a desired distance to initially chill one portion of the strip before'chilling another portion thereof, and means to propel the strip between the chilling plates.

3. A n apparatus of the character described compr sing means to heat a metal strip, a plurality of pairs of chilling plates for the passage ofthe strip therebetween, one pair of plates having recesses to keep adjacent port1ons of the strip out of contact with said plates for a desired distance, a chilling box supporting the chilling plates, a pipe within the box for cooling fluid, said pipe having one or more outlets for directing one or more jets of cooling fluid against the box top for cooling the chilling plates, means to discharge cooling fluid from the box, and means to propel the strip between the chilling plates.

4. apparatus of the character described compr sing means to heat a metal strip, a plurality of pairs of chilling plates for the pairs of plates, means to passage of the strip therebetween, a chilling box supporting said plates, means to supply the box with fluid for cooling the plates, a cooling tank supported by the plates, means to supply the tank with cooling fluid, said cooling tank having a flexible bottom extending over all over the respective pairs of chilling plates operative separately upon said flexible bottom for pressing the upper chilling plates against the strip between said plates, and means to propel the strip between the chilling plates.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, in which the weighted members include plates having feet to engage the flexible bottom of the tank to permit cooling fluid to engage substantially all portions of said bottom.

6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 4, in which the weighted members comprise plates adapted to press of the tank, and weighted arms pivotally carrying said plates to permit insertion of the plates into and their removal from the tank.

7. An apparatus of the character described comprising means to heat a metal strip, a plurality of pairs of closely spaced chilling plates for the passage of the strip therebetween to prevent warping of the strip, a chilling box supporting said plates, 'means to supply the box with fluid for cooling the plates, the to of the box having means rcmovably retaining said plates to permit application of the strip between the plates, a cooling tank supported upon the plates, and

means to supply said tank with fluid for cooling said plates.

8. An apparatus of the character described comprising means to heat a metal strip, a plurality of pairs of chilling plates for the passage of the strip therebetween, a chilling box supporting said plates, means to supply the box with fluid for cooling the plates, the top of said box havin walls at the sides of the chilling plates and provided with spaced recesses, said plates having projections within said recesses to retain said plates from longitudinal displacement, a cooling tank supported upon the plates, and means to supply said tank with fluid for cooling said plates.

9. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2 provided with chilling plates spaced from the first named plates and having surfaces to chill all portions of the strip similarly after the strip passes from the first named lates.

CONRAD SCHUMACH R.

of the plates, weighted members I against-the flexible bottom 

